I was lured into purchasing this
book simply by the title; it just caught my attention, and when I read the
description on the jacket, I had to read through it. Something From The Nightside, by Simon R. Green, is one of those rare and entertaining books that
feels like it should have been a movie because it reads like a movie—not an easy
thing to pull off.

The story follows John Taylor, half-demon,
private eye, and former resident of The Nightside, a hidden part of
London
where every
form of unimaginable are real and coexist under a sunless sky. John is running
from a past he no longer wants, running by hiding away in the real world, taking
clients as they come, finding lost things for people and just plain trying to
pay the bills.

Enter Ms. Joanna Barrett, straight-laced, uppity,
business woman with a missing teenager
in need of finding. No one will help
her. No one can help her. All she has is a name—Nightside—and a few thousand
dollars to throw around. John takes the case because he needs the money and
quickly takes her into The Nightside, the place he swore he’d never return to.

The author delves into this new and mystical world
that could have been a post-apocalyptic
war zone if not for all the inhuman
creatures running about. They all know John Taylor; they all fear John Taylor.
His name is infamous in The Nightside for reason even John could never figure
out, but he knew it had something to do with his demon mother.

Using his gift to see things no one else can, John
finds a trail and follows the lead, deeper and deeper into The Nightside. Along
the way, he meets up with old friends, old enemies and some that are in
between. They go to a bar
that only opens its door when it feels inclined to, a
restaurant
that is actually a ghost, a future where John Taylor has killed every
living thing on earth, and a house
that isn’t a house and has a very big
appetite. And along the way he gets a shocking reminder of the Nightside’s
ageless motto: You can’t trust anyone.

Something from Tthe Nightside is a well written,
hardboiled story with a real retro-P.I. feel to it, told in a first person
narrative that is simple yet informative. The author doesn’t waste any time in
throwing the reader into the world he created. My only problem with it is that
I felt the story was a little rushed in the beginning, giving the reader no time
whatsoever to get to know John in his life outside of The Nightside and pushing
him back in so fast it made me wonder how he’d manage to stay out of it for five
years. The character seemed too willing to go back.

Aside from that, I loved the story and look forward to
reading the rest of The Nightside series.